Breathwork

What is breathwork?

Breathwork means simply bringing your conscious awareness and attention to your breath.  Breathwork has existed for thousands of years across multiple civilizations and cultures as a way to cultivate and improve mental health and overall well-being.

How does breathwork work?

When our brain perceives a threat, our sympathetic nervous system kicks into gear and sends us into fight, flight, freeze, or submit mode.  Many of us remain in an activated state most of the time due to trauma, chronic stress, and our fast-paced and media-saturated culture. 

When we take time to slow down and focus on our breath, we are communicating to our brains that it is safe and okay, helping to ignite our parasympathetic nervous system which helps our bodies relax, sleep, and digest. 

Breathwork is a way to help activate and ignite our body’s parasympathetic nervous system to reduce stress and restore our bodies to a relaxed and regulated state of being.  There are several techniques to practice breathwork, including deep breathing, holotropic breathwork, and alternate nostril breathing.

What does breathwork help?

Breathwork improves a variety of physical and emotional conditions, including:

-balancing blood pressure

-reducing anxiety

-stress reduction

-improved sleep

-improved focus

-reducing trauma symptoms

-improving immune function

Want to learn more about breathwork?  Contact our clinician Scott Ragsdale at scott@alofthealingstudios.com today to see if breathwork is right for you.